Chapter 644: Triumphant Return from the Subjugation

After repairing the wolf-shaped puppet Garo and the humanoid puppet Eve, Tauro collected the remains of the defeated Troll Emperor and the other troll-type monsters. He then took a short nap until dawn before leaving the pseudo-dungeon.

On the way back, they rode on Garo’s back, allowing them to reach the surface much faster than expected.

During the journey, the gatekeeper elf couldn’t stop praising Tauro’s party.

“Never did I imagine that you’d defeat the Troll Emperor, one of the greatest calamities, while suffering so little damage! Lord Giro Sugar’s party are nothing short of heroes! I now have a duty, as a living witness, to pass down the tale of your heroism. I’ll quit being a gatekeeper and dedicate my life to telling your legend!”

They went on like that the entire way.

“Honestly, I think the battle was very close. If we hadn’t had Garo, Adam, and Eve, someone in our group might’ve died. And not having Ankh, our main offensive force, made things even more dangerous. This time, we forced the fight using Garo’s defense-ignoring Shockwave and the puppets’ high durability, but the fact that we still took damage shows just how dangerous an S-rank threat was.”

Tauro hadn’t expected the puppets made from mysterious dungeon material to be damaged so easily.

But the Troll Emperor had managed to do it.

Without Ankh’s overwhelming physical attack power, Tauro had relied on Garo and the others for both offense and defense, but even they took damage from the Emperor’s magic sword and abilities.

If Ragune or Zion had taken those attacks instead, the outcome might have been far worse.

More than anything, the fact that the Troll Emperor could keep moving after taking two point-blank Shockwaves was abnormal.

Even after being impaled through the head by Tauro’s blade, the Troll Emperor still fought on. Its vitality was beyond reason.

If Aeris hadn’t followed up with [Lightning Needle Strike] at exactly the right moment, the Emperor might have found an opening to counterattack.

The smart approach in battle was to overwhelm the enemy before it could fully display its power, and fortunately, that was exactly how things had played out. Tauro knew they shouldn’t mistake this victory for proof that they had seen everything the Troll Emperor was capable of.

Thanks to the presence of Garo and the others, they had enough offensive pressure to keep attacking without giving the enemy any openings. That, Tauro believed, was what led to their victory.

When Tauro’s party returned to Forest City, Glasslow, the elf subordinate who had been acting separately, greeted them at the north gate.

The gatekeeper elf, having witnessed their heroics, immediately spread the news and even sent a messenger to the Council of Elders.

“Welcome back, Lord Tauro. Things here have gone well. I managed to secure a statement from the Council of Elders that they’d be willing to negotiate if the troll outbreak were resolved. Judging by your expression… it seems you succeeded?”

Glasslow looked relieved.

“Good work, Glasslow. We ran into an unexpected enemy, but we managed to resolve things somehow.”

Tauro kept it vague due to being at the gate—but the gatekeeper elf loudly announced:

“These are the heroes who defeated the legendary Troll Emperor that appeared in the pseudo-dungeon!”

There was no need for further explanation.

“…What? You defeated the Troll Emperor!? Creatures bearing the title ‘Emperor’ are considered calamity-class threats in this world—S-rank, the stuff of legends. Among them, the Troll Emperor is one of the worst possible threats to the Elf Autonomous Region. It’s the kind of disaster that would require help from the dragonfolk… And you defeated it… It seems I’ve come to serve an extraordinary person. Hahahaha…”

Glasslow already believed Tauro was a lord worth serving, but the elf couldn’t help laughing upon learning just what Tauro had accomplished.

“We just got lucky this time,” Tauro replied with a smile.

Tauro then had Glasslow ride on Garo, and the group returned to their inn.

By midday, word of the human party’s achievements had spread throughout Forest City.

After all, trolls were natural enemies of the elves, and a Troll Emperor represented a potential extinction-level threat.

The fact that a human group who had been at odds with the elves had defeated such a monster on their behalf became the talk of the entire city.

Official confirmation from the Council of Elders was still pending. However, because the source of the rumor was the gatekeeper elf from the north gate, it carried considerable credibility.

Apparently, that gatekeeper elf was quite well-known within the territory.

Perhaps thanks to this, a messenger from the Council of Elders arrived in the early afternoon, inviting Tauro’s party to the mansion where the elders convened.

The stark contrast with how they had been treated just days earlier was almost unbelievable, but it was easy to guess the Council’s intention: to uncover the truth behind the rumors and calm the unrest in the city.

Tauro, however, saw this as an opportunity. If handled well, this could become a stepping stone toward restoring relations.

With that in mind, Tauro and his party set out for the elders’ mansion to meet with the Council.